Sonali Bank gets permission to launch PayPal

Bangladesh Bank has given permission to state owned Sonali Bank to proceed with the necessary procedures with PayPal to start operations in Bangladesh.

The central bank’s Foreign Exchange Policy Department issued the order on Monday, making the way for the global online payment system PayPal in Bangladesh.

“We just received the permission. Now we will go forward with necessary procedures. We will also sign a formal agreement with the PayPal, so that the service comes into operation soon,” principal officer of Foreign Remittance Management Division of Sonali Bank Md Nawab Hossen told reporters.

The bank official said they will sign an agreement with PayPal soon after a legal channel for transaction is opened.

“Once the agreement is signed, we will work for developing the software and its integration with PayPal. However, this will not take much time and good news might come soon,” he added.

The service will help people and businesses transfer funds, including transfer of remittances, electronically.

PayPal allows individuals and businesses to transfer funds electronically. As it is an online service, an individual first needs to open a PayPal account with a valid email address. The aspiring PayPal user would also need a valid credit card or a bank account linked with PayPal to avail its services.

Outsourcing works in Bangladesh will get a boost with the PayPal services and will make remittance inflow easier and faster, said Nawab Hossen.

PayPal makes money by charging transaction fees mainly from business accounts, charging to a payment’s recipient. Although most transactions are free, merchants pay a fee for each transaction. However, it does not charge any fees to send money.

On July 15, 2015, State Minister of the ICT Department, Zunaid Ahmed Palak said on a Facebook status,“We had a very effective meeting with the vice-president of PayPal today in San Jose, California. We explained them in details about Bangladesh Government’s policies and regulatory reforms and business opportunities for PayPal. They have agreed to launch Xoom’s operations in Bangladesh within this quarter. They [PayPal] will also internally discuss on how they can prioritise and launch PayPal in Bangladesh and let us know if they need any further support from our government. We will continue our persuasion to bring PayPal in Bangladesh sooner than later.”